Man pleads guilty to leaving dead animals on former neighbor’s headstone

BENTONVILLE, Ark. – A 79-year-old man pleaded guilty to leaving dead animals on the grave of his former neighbor, NBC4 reports.

According to the report, Joseph Stroud was accused of causing more than $2,500 in damages to a former neighbor’s headstone by staining it with the blood of more than a dozen dead animals.

Recommended Videos



NBC4 reports that the granddaughter of the deceased contacted police in July after she and her family began finding dead animals on her grandfather’s grave two months prior.

According to NBC4, Stroud was arrested in August after he was caught on surveillance video placing dead animals on the headstone and charged with defacing objects of public respect.

Stroud agreed to a plea deal, lowering his charges from a felony to a misdemeanor. He must also surrender his driver’s license due to his mental health and will pay more than $2,500 in victim restitution, according to NBC4.

According to the granddaughter of the deceased, her grandfather and Stroud had farms next to each other with a shared boundary for several years, and “never got along with each other,” NBC4 reports.


About the Author

Recommended Videos